The longer I am in China the more I learn about America. Just like traveling to a foreign country turns out to be the ideal place to meet yourself China turns out to be an interesting lens to really see America. Something you will see on any city street in China that you will never see in America is people arguing with the cops. Think about that for a moment. In America, if you get pulled over, you cannot argue with the cops. In fact, depending upon your race, you have a good chance these days of getting shot. Not in china. I watched two guys argue with each other about a minor fender bender. A cop walked over and the two guys came together to yell at the cop and made him move away. Ive asked Chinese people and expats whove lived here for years and they all tell me that this is common. The police have almost no respect or power here. At the street level, the day to day level where most people live at, there is a freedom that Americans dont have. Sure, the government is all powerful but considering America has been in a war with terrorism since 2001, what government doesnt give itself the authority to take away rights and do what it thinks is right for the sake of security? This excuses nothing from either government but the next time you get pulled over for not wearing a seat belt, try arguing with the cop and see how much freedom you have. Thats the other thing about the Chinese; you are responsible for yourself. No one else is. In America, a society almost crippled with worrying about offending people, its oddly refreshing to be in a culture that doesnt care about offending anyone. Its all interesting to me because more and more I see myself as a citizen of the world, born in America, telling jokes to people in China, who are from all over the globe.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:55:45 +0000
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